People on The Move in Kalamazoo -- Oct. 10, 2013

KALAMAZOO, MI — People on The Move announces the new title or
working role of local people moving from one paid position to another.
That includes lateral moves, promotions, new hires, or people taking on
significant new work assignments.Among those making moves recently were:

HOSPITALITY

-Robert Schmidt has been named general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott in Portage. Schmidt began his career with hotel properties manager and owner TMI Hospitality as general manager of the Homewood Suites in Grand Rapids. During that time, he served on the Hotel Advisory Board and Executive Board for the Grand Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau and held a committee chairmanship for the Kent County Lodging Association. Before joining TMI Hospitality, Schmidt managed the Grand Rapids Baymont Inn & Suites and was an operations manager at the East Lansing TownePlace Suites.

INSURANCE

-J.M. Wilson recently promoted three members of its staff and added a fourth. Amanda Montgomery has been promoted to transportation underwriter in the company’s Portage office. As such, she reviews, quotes, binds and services new business accounts for business and public transportation risks. Montgomery was hired at J.M. Wilson as an assistant property and casualty underwriter in 2012 and has more than 10 years of customer service experience. Calvin McNamara has been promoted to assistant Personal Lines manager. In that role, he oversees the day-to-day activities of the Personal Lines Department and provides guidance and training to Personal Lines teammates. He continues to underwrite and service new and renewal business for both Personal Lines and Garage. McNamara began his career with J.M. Wilson in 2008, after graduating from Olivet College with a degree in Insurance and Risk Management. He was hired as a Personal Lines Underwriter. Kristy Stratton has been promoted to assistant property and casualty underwriter in the Portage office. She was hired at J.M. Wilson as a transportation and property and casualty technician in 2012. In her new role, Stratton helps the underwriting department with quoting, issuing and servicing Property 7 Casualty accounts. Prior to joining the firm, Stratton worked as a packaging specialist with Perrigo and Thermofisher Scientific. Shawna McCafferty has joined the company as marketing and agency coordinator at its Portage headquarters. In that role, she assists in planning and executing marketing efforts for eight offices. Her responsibilities include creating and maintaining marketing collateral, website content updates and managing customer contact information. McCafferty has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Western Michigan University. Prior to joining J.M. Wilson, she was office manager for several years at Cornerstone Chiropractic Center in Portage. J.M. Wilson is a Managing General Agency providing independent insurance agents access to markets for both personal and commercial lines. It has branch and affiliate offices in eight states.

STAFFING SERVICES

-Gary Schuler has been named executive vice president at EmploymentGroup. In that role, Schuler has oversight for staff placement and development operations, new business development, and sales team management. Schuler brings 25 years of Midwest-based sales and management experience to the staffing and outsourced services firm. Most recently, he was a senior sales executive for Cintas Corp., where his responsibilities included managing Fortune 500 and other large retail accounts, and securing new customers for Cintas’ full line of corporate uniform services, facility products and document management systems. Schuler has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from Kent State University and was a founding member of MyWay Mobile Storage, where he was instrumental in forming the company’s sales and operations, functions and developing a multi-channel sales strategy for leading retailer Family Christian Stores.

LAW

-Attorney Adam J. Keilen has joined the Lake, Waldorf & Schau PLC law firm in Kalamazoo, focusing primarily on business law and estate planning and administration. Keilen was previously an attorney with Willis Law. Keilen has a law degree from Michigan State College of Law, an M.B.A from Western Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. He has been a guest speaker and sponsor for projects at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Western Michigan University. He has also been a guest speaker for the Innovation & Design Program at the University of Michigan.

REAL ESTATE

-Angela Brister has joined Bradley Co. as marketing director. In
that role, she manages and supports marketing, communication and research
initiatives across eight regional offices in Northern Indiana and Southwest
Michigan for the diversified
real estate firm.
She leads marketing efforts and personnel to ensure continuity of brand and
messaging in all departments, as well as outside the company. Brister was previously
account manager for Archway Marketing, where she led the team for Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals since 2007, and was the owner of Innovative Images Graphic
Services from 2002 to 2007. Brister has a bachelor's degree from Illinois State
University in Industrial Technology/Graphics & Printing Management and a master's
degree in Business Administration from the Keller Graduate School of
Management.

To get moving

People
on The Move announces the new title or working role of individuals
moving from one paid position to another. Items should include the proper name of that
person(s) and his or her new title. We also want to mention the position
or job the individual most recently held.

Be
advised that People on The Move is for people who live, work or are
known in our readership area.

We
publish head and shoulders photos of individuals when they are provided
to us. They may be sent to ajones5@mlive.com and/or dfavorit@mlive.com. E-images should be JPEG format of at
least 300 DPI.